In 25 days, I am going to get on a plane and, 24 hours later, I will arrive in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, on the west coast of Africa. Then I will spend the next four months volunteering on board "Africa Mercy" as a post-op nurse for local people who have received reconstructive surgery on the ship. This whole thing is odd to me for many reasons:
a) I have never been outside of North America
b) I have been on one plane....one time....for about one hour....so, I am not up for "world traveller of the year"
c) I am not a post-op nurse. I have been working in the NICU since I graduated three years ago, and while the NICU has been fantastic experience, I doubt my ability to find a vein in a 500 gram preemie is going to be of much use in this setting
d) I am struggling to remember if I have EVER been on a boat
These things should make me scared. Going on this trip is definately not the most logical thing I have ever done. And given my personal affinity for pro / con lists and over annalysis of even the most trivial of decisions, it would seem that at some point in the last few months, as I have been trying to put all of my personal posessions in a large backpack and rationalize in my brain how I am going to adapt to life without Country 95.3, MAC make-up, Gilmore Girls, preloaded syringes from pharmacy, instant communication with anyone I want, and all of the other luxeries of North America, I would have opted out of this seemingly irrational adventure. But the thing is that I havn't, and, aside from brief moments of slight panick about leaving everyone and everything I have come to know thus far in life, I am not scared. I am excited. I think the word "elated" would even apply. The last few weeks, in particular, have been busy. There are more "affairs to get in order" than I could have anticipated. Things to do that in a different situation, I would have found annoying. It all feels different and exciting though. Somehow makes me think God is behind this whole thing. That when you are in the very center of the plan that God has for you, that this is what it feels like. Not scary, or annoying, just like it should feel when the thing that you have wanted for a very long time actually starts happening.
Archive for January 2008
posted by Jenn
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In 25 days, I am going to get on a plane and, 24 hours later, I will arrive in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, on the west coast of Africa. Then I will spend the next four months volunteering on board "Africa Mercy" as a post-op nurse for local people who have received reconstructive surgery on the ship. This whole thing is odd to me for many reasons:
a) I have never been outside of North America
b) I have been on one plane....one time....for about one hour....so, I am not up for "world traveller of the year"
c) I am not a post-op nurse. I have been working in the NICU since I graduated three years ago, and while the NICU has been fantastic experience, I doubt my ability to find a vein in a 500 gram preemie is going to be of much use in this setting
d) I am struggling to remember if I have EVER been on a boat
These things should make me scared. Going on this trip is definately not the most logical thing I have ever done. And given my personal affinity for pro / con lists and over annalysis of even the most trivial of decisions, it would seem that at some point in the last few months, as I have been trying to put all of my personal posessions in a large backpack and rationalize in my brain how I am going to adapt to life without Country 95.3, MAC make-up, Gilmore Girls, preloaded syringes from pharmacy, instant communication with anyone I want, and all of the other luxeries of North America, I would have opted out of this seemingly irrational adventure. But the thing is that I havn't, and, aside from brief moments of slight panick about leaving everyone and everything I have come to know thus far in life, I am not scared. I am excited. I think the word "elated" would even apply. The last few weeks, in particular, have been busy. There are more "affairs to get in order" than I could have anticipated. Things to do that in a different situation, I would have found annoying. It all feels different and exciting though. Somehow makes me think God is behind this whole thing. That when you are in the very center of the plan that God has for you, that this is what it feels like. Not scary, or annoying, just like it should feel when the thing that you have wanted for a very long time actually starts happening.
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